Lord Of The Rings moviemaker Peter Jackson has restated his interest in taking charge of a Doctor Who episode, inviting BBC bosses to allow him to create a special in his native New Zealand. Jackson, who shot the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films Down Under, is urging Doctor Who producer Stephen Moffatt to give him the reins of the franchise, and he admits that discussions between himself and BBC chiefs are "actually kind of serious".
Jackson says, "I'd love to try my hand at television, because I've never had the discipline of having to shoot for those impossibly tiny schedules. I think I could do it OK now.
"I did suggest that they did a New Zealand story - something to do with the (rugby union team) All Blacks versus the Daleks. There's a good story in there, although obviously the All Blacks would have to win!"
Earlier this year (13), Jackson, a lifelong Doctor Who fan, told Entertainment Weekly magazine he'd be willing to direct an episode of the cult sci-fi show for nothing but a prop Dalek.
The filmmaker revealed his wife Fran Walsh has bought him two Daleks in the past as Christmas gifts.
He explained, "I have a very early one and another from (former Doctor Who star) Sylvester's (McCoy) time.
"I've also collected a few Doctor Who costumes, including a Tom Baker outfit with a scarf."

Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
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Current Doctor Who star Matt Smith is to unite with past Time Lords including Tom Baker and Sylvester Mccoy at an event in London to mark the cult TV show's 50th anniversary. The actors will all appear at the 50th anniversary celebration event in the British capital in November (13), along with another former Doctor Who Colin Baker.
The convention will run over three days and feature question-and-answer sessions with cast members, a special effects display from the show's resident expert Danny Hargreaves, and masterclasses with Doctor Who's 'monster choreographer' Ailsa Burke.
The event will run from 22-24 November (13) at London's ExCeL exhibition centre, coinciding with the screening of the show's anniversary episode on 23 November (13).
The special installment will reportedly feature new castmember John Hurt as well as a reappearance by former Time Lord David Tennant and his onscreen assistant Billie Piper.

House of Win: Netflix's House of Cards experiment appears to be working: the Internet movie and TV distributor announced that its new original show is the most popular TV show streaming on its site right now. Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos announced the news at a media conference, saying the company was "thrilled" at how many people have been watching the Kevin Spacey political drama since its Feb. 1 debut. Netflix paid $100 million to produce two seasons of the David Fincher-directed series. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Making a Killing: AMC has landed a major star for its third season reboot of the resurrected drama The Killing. Peter Sarsgaard will co-star as a death row inmate inching closer to his execution. Tom Seward is a violent criminal who has been in and out of the system since he was 10 years old. [TVLine]
The Marlboro Man Returns: Gary Cole is heading back to The Good Wife. The actor will reprise his role as ballistics expert and Diane Lockhart's sometime-love interest Kurt McVeigh in an upcoming episode. He'll assist the Lockhart Gardner team with a case later this season. [TV Guide]
Pilot Season: Hollywood made plenty of hires today as it continued to add cast members to its in-production TV pilots. The L Word star Jennifer Beals will reunite with her old showrunner in Fox's California surfer drama Venice as the head of one of the beach town's most famous families. Virginia Madsen will star as the McCoy family matriarch in NBC's modern-day drama about the famous Hatfield and McCoy family feud. Former ABC Family star Skyler Samuels (The Nine Lives of Chloe King) will lead NBC's drama Bloodline, about a young girl struggling between two warrior families while living in present-day suburbia. The Mindy Project love interest Tommy Dewey will co-star in Seth MacFarlane's new live-action Fox comedy Dads. Over on cable, Matthew Goode will play a confidante of the pope in Showtime's drama pilot Vatican. [Deadline, TVLine, Deadline, TVLine, Deadline]
Follow Jean on Twitter @hijean
[PHOTO CREDIT: Netflix]
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In the late '90s, Peter Jackson was given an unenviable task. The director needed to recreate J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth as realistically and lovingly as possible to appease the fantasy author's fervent fans while still delivering a blockbuster that would please studio heads more focused on profits as green as Hobbiton's lush fields. And, shockingly, with 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Jackson did just that. With the exception of a few omissions (sorry, Tom Bombadil — we skipped over you while reading the book anyway), the director managed to deliver a remarkably faithful adaptation to the big screen, complete with Tolkien's voice, vision, and most beloved characters.
But, following two successful follow-ups, one of which — The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — bagged the Academy Award for Best Picture, Jackson was faced with a more interesting dilemma. After taking on The Hobbit adaptation, the director was tasked with bringing a book to life that even Tolkien fans have trouble mustering up excitement for. After delivering the epic Lord of the Rings franchise, Jackson could hardly offer fans the floppy, juvenile treatment the book asked for. So, to no one's surprise and the benefit of adventure-seeking audiences, Jackson took several liberties with The Hobbit, bringing to screen a less faithful, but far more exciting, adaptation.
GALLERY: 13 Adaptations That Threw Out the Books
So where did The Hobbit depart from its original source material? See below for a few of the biggest changes!
Radagast Bunny Hops on Screen Strangely enough, the most kid-friendly scene from The Hobbit didn't actually appear in the book. Though Radagast (Sylvester McCoy) was mentioned in Tolkien's novel, the nature-loving wizard — and his ridiculous ridiculously cute bunny sled — didn't make an appearance. Radagast does, however, play a role in Tolkien's notes — sources being used for the third Hobbitfilm. Azog Comes Out of the Fog What's a Lord of the Rings movie without an Orc? While The Hobbit primarily focuses on goblins and trolls — nary even mentioning an Orc — Jackson's film adaptation centers on Thorin's battle with Azog (Manu Bennett). In Tolkien mythology, Azog did indeed kill King Thrór, Thorin's grandfather, but Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and his dwarf companions merely stumble upon danger in The Hobbit— they largely move untracked. Of course, the best way to amp up Bilbo's unexpected journey was to add a few more unexpected villains. Seeing Saruman Radagast wasn't the only wizard who magically appeared out of nowhere. Saruman (Christopher Lee) also had no role in Tolkien's The Hobbit, but made an appearance in the film as part of a mini White Council. Credit nostalgia — who didn't smile their pearly whites seeing the soon-to-be-evil white wizard? GALLERY: 10 Celebrities With Gollum Eyes Glad to See Galadriel? Similarly, Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) was never mentioned in The Hobbitnovel, despite her large role in Jackson's adaptation. But, let's face it, much like Galadriel's advice, you weren't able to get her out of your head anyway. Frodo's in the Frame! Proof that great things come in the shortest of scenes: The Hobbit's biggest geek-out moment happened at the beginning of the film, when Frodo (Elijah Wood) recreated a Fellowship of the Ring conversation with an elderly Bilbo (Ian Holm) awaiting his birthday party. Precious, indeed — but not in the book. Prancing Ponies Prance Away I couldn't have been the only child horrified at the prospect of goblins under the Misty Mountains eating the dwarves' poor ponies. So it's no surprise Jackson dismissed them from the script with one dwarf's claim that the small horses had simply run away in fear. Now, if only The Hobbit had managed to avoid real-life heartbreaking pony stories…
[Image Credit: Warner Bros] More: Hobbit Inspires 10 Celebrities Gollum-ized with Gollum Eyes The Hobbit Inspires Trolls Vs. Dwarves — The Pop Culture Journey The Hobbit: What the Heck is a 'Warg'? Middle Earth Vocabulary for Non-Nerds
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There's an allure to imperfection. With his latest drama Lawless director John Hillcoat taps directly into the side of human nature that draws us to it. Hillcoat finds it in Prohibition history a time when the regulations of alcohol consumption were subverted by most of the population; He finds it in the rural landscapes of Virginia: dingy raw and mesmerizing. And most importantly he finds it in his main character Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) the scrappy third brother of a moonshining family who is desperate to prove his worth. Jack forcefully injects himself into the family business only to discover there's an underbelly to the underbelly. Lawless is a beautiful film that's violent as hell striking in a way only unfiltered Americana could be.
Acting as the driver for his two outlaw brothers Forrest (Tom Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke) isn't enough for Jack. He's enticed by the power of the gangster figure and entranced by what moonshine money can buy. So like any fledgling entrepreneur Jack takes matters into his own hands. Recruiting crippled family friend/distillery mastermind Cricket (Dane DeHaan) the young whippersnapper sets out to brew his own batch sell it to top dog Floyd Banner and make the family rich. The plan works — but it puts the Bondurant boys in over their heads with a new threat: the corrupt law enforcers of Chicago.
Unlike many stories of crime life Lawless isn't about escalation. The movie drifts back and forth leisurely popping in moments like the beats of a great TV episode. One second the Bondurants could be talking shop with their female shopkeep Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain). The next Forrest is beating the bloody pulp out of a cop blackmailing their operation. The plot isn't thick; Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave preferring to bask in the landscapes the quiet moments the haunting terror that comes with a life on the other side of the tracks. A feature film doesn't offer enough time for Lawless to build — it recalls cinema-level TV currently playing on outlets like HBO and AMC that have truly spoiled us — but what the duo accomplish is engrossing.
Accompanying the glowing visuals and Cave's knockout workout on the music side (a toe-tapping mix of spirituals bluegrass and the writer/musician's spine-tingling violin) are muted performances from some of Hollywood's rising stars. Despite LaBeouf's off-screen antics he lights up Lawless and nails the in-deep whippersnapper. His playful relationship with a local religious girl (Mia Wasikowska) solidifies him as a leading man but like everything in the movie you want more. Tom Hardy is one of the few performers who can "uurrr" and "mmmnerm" his way through a scene and come out on top. His greatest sparring partner isn't a hulking thug but Chastain who brings out the heart of the impenetrable beast. The real gem of Lawless is Guy Pearce as the Bondurant trio's biggest threat. Shaved eyebrows pristine city clothes and a temper like a rabid wolverine Pearce's Charlie Rakes is the most frightening villain of 2012. He viciously chews up every moment he's on screen. That's even before he starts drawing blood.
Lawless is the perfect movie for the late August haze — not quite the Oscary prestige picture or the summertime shoot-'em-up. It's drama that has its moonshine and swigs it too. Just don't drink too much.
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Seeing as the world isn't operating by any of its old laws of reality, the new History Channel television miniseries Hatfields &amp; McCoys recently broke, and then rebroke, the ratings record for an ad supported cable broadcast. Thus, understated retellings of pieces of American folk history are in now. And before James Franco can even lay claim to this pop culture peculiarity, another fashionable Hollywood icon is getting in on the ground floor: Charlize Theron.
THR reports that the Snow White and the Huntsman star is interested in developing another adaptation of Hatfields &amp; McCoys... which, in a mind-blowingly ironic fashion, might make the two TV projects deadly rivals. Theron's concept will differ from the existing miniseries, which stars Kevin Costner and Tom Berenger. Theron is in talks with ABC Studios to shop a series that will provide a modern day retelling of the age-old tale.
As it stands, Theron is attached as a producer, and not necessarily as a member of the cast. However, the only project to date that the actress has produced and not starred in was the 2006 documentary East of Havana. Considering this, it is likely that Theron will take onscreen duties as well. The real question: will she be a Hatfield or a McCoy?
Hatfields Fever
[Photo Credit: David Edwards/Daily Celeb]
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Holy Heck, History's 'Hatfields &amp; McCoys' Sets Ratings Record
'Hatfields &amp; McCoys' Rides Right Into Another Ratings Record